02-12-2010
• arclein
One reason for the variability, scientists say, is Pluto's highly eccentric – or oblong – orbit, which causes strong variations in temperature. Pluto takes 248 years to make a full orbit around the sun.
"Right now it's close to being springtime on Pluto," Brown said. "In the fall things will freeze out. It's just a ridiculously extreme place to be."